Dynasty Startup Draft Strategy Bonanza 2023

Each month, I host multiple dynasty startup mock drafts in order to curate our ADP data. In order to best monitor these drafts, I participate in each mock. This month, I tried six different specific team-building strategies. Below, I’ll discuss each method and share the team that was born from that plan.

The six draft strategies I settled on were as follows:

• Productive Struggle
• Win Now
• WR Heavy
• All-22
• Fake Punt
• Best Player Available

PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE

I’ve written quite a bit about the strategy I coined as Productive Struggle. Find the first mention way back in 2014, with an updated look at the strategy as part of our 2021 Dynasty Draft Guide. In case you missed those, the basis of the Productive Struggle is being willing to tank, or give up, the first season of dynasty league with the goal of building a powerhouse filled with young, valuable assets.

When applying the Productive Struggle strategy, there should be no concern about winning in year one, though that does occasionally happen. Also, no need to sweat exact position requirements. Often, Productive Struggle teams are built around the wide receiver position because that is the one with the best combination of high value and long career span. While youth is a focal point of this strategy, it’s not an exact rule. The real goal is to load up on players who are likely to gain value, with a goal of maximizing that projected value gain, likely through trading. Typically, this strategy would also involve moving up and down the draft board and acquiring future rookie picks, via draft pick trades, but that is not an option in our mock drafts.